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New infrastructure funding vital to Yukon’s sustainable economic development

September 05, 2017

The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) applauds the Government of Canada and the Government of Yukon for announcing significant investments in critical infrastructure that will greatly assist the territory in seizing growth opportunities in the mining industry.

On September 2nd, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, and the Yukon Premier Sandy Silver announced over $360 million in combined federal and territorial funding. The funding will be directed towards improving road access in two mineral-rich areas of the territory: the Dawson Range in Central Yukon and the Nahanni Range road in southeastern Yukon. Two MAC members have projects in the region: Goldcorp’s Coffee project and Western Copper and Gold’s Casino project. These projects will contribute billions in new investment in the territory, and will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

“This collaboration between both levels of government is exactly the strategic action needed to capitalize on the significant mineral potential in the Yukon and across Canada’s North. In turn, sustainable mineral development will help grow the economy, and contribute to building healthy and vibrant local and Indigenous communities,” stated Pierre Gratton, President and CEO, MAC. “We thank the Prime Minister and the Yukon Premier for their leadership and we hope this serves as an example of what can be replicated to great success across the northern regions of the country.”

Infrastructure plays a critical role in the industry’s competitiveness and Canada’s ability to attract new mining investments against other countries. At the same time, the Canadian mining industry’s growth opportunities are increasingly located in areas where infrastructure is severely lacking or does not exist. A recent study[1] found that the infrastructure deficit across the territories and northern areas of the provinces has been inhibiting sustainable mining development, despite the significant mineral potential that exists in these regions. The study found that it costs up to six times more to explore, and more than double to build a mine in remote and northern Canada compared to southern regions of the country.

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About MAC

The Mining Association of Canada is the national organization for the Canadian mining industry. Its members account for most of Canada’s production of base and precious metals, uranium, diamonds, metallurgical coal and mined oil sands, and are actively engaged in mineral exploration, mining, smelting, refining and semi-fabrication. Please visit www.mining.ca[2].